Parmi les matériaux piézo-électriques, les pérovskites ferroélectriques à base de plomb sont connus pour avoir les meilleurs coefficients piézo-électriques et couplage électromécanique. Ils sont largement utilisés dans diverses applications industrielles et technologiques. Les "ferroélectrique relaxeurs" appartiennent à cette famille. Leur structure est caractérisée par la présence de nanorégions polaires orientées de façon aléatoire. Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés à l'étude des propriétés structurales et dynamiques de matériaux ferroélectriques et relaxeurs tels que PbTiO3, PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3, PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3 (PMN), PbZn1/3Nb2/3O3, et PbMg1/3Ta2/3O3 (PMT). La structure à longue et courte portée a été étudiée par diffraction de neutrons et spectroscopie d'absorption des rayons X (XAFS), alors que la spectroscopie hyper-Raman (HR) est utilisée pour sonder les vibrations. L'analyse de la structure locale de matériaux pérovskites complexes AB'B''O3 montre que la pression diminue le désordre statique des gros cations occupant le site B, tandis que le champ électrique appliqué a un effet opposé. Cette distortion induite sous champ pourrait être à l'origine des forts coefficient piézoélectrique dans ces matériaux. La diffusion HR dans PMN et PMT a permis d'observer pour la première fois le "mode mou" responsable de la dépendance en température de la constante diélectrique. L'analyse des règles de sélection et la description en modes propres des vibrations actives en HR, permet de rendre compte de l'implication de chaque atome dans le comportement structural en température des ferroélectriques relaxeurs. / Among piezoelectric materials, lead-based ferroelectric perovskites are known to have the largest piezoelectric coefficients and electromechanical coupling. They are widely used in dfferent industrial and technological applications. The so-called "relaxors" belong to this family. Their structure is characterized by the presence of randomly oriented polar nanoregions. In this thesis, we are interested in studying the structural and dynamical properties of prototypical ferroelectric materials and relaxors such as PbTiO3, PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3, PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3 (PMN), PbZn1/3Nb2/3O3, and PbMg1/3Ta2/3O3 (PMT). The long and short range structure has been investigated by neutron diffraction and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), while hyper-Raman scattering (HRS) is used to probe the vibrations. The local structure analysis of complex perovskite materials AB'B''O3 shows that pressure reduces the static disorder of the large cation occupying the B-site, while an applied electric field has an opposite effect. This field-induced distortion might relate to the large piezoelectric coefficient in such materials. HRS in PMN and PMT allows the first observation of the "primary" soft mode responsible for the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant. The selection rule analysis reveals the nature of the HRS active vibrational bands and enables us to get insights about the involvement of each atom in the structural modifications upon temperature.

Le magnétisme moléculaire est une discipline qui regroupe le magnétisme de molécules relativement simples mais aussi celui de systèmes très complexes : molécules à haut spin, aimants à base moléculaire, molécules-aimants… Le travail présenté ici se place dans ce contexte et abord la synthèse et l’étude détaillée des structures cristallines et des propriétés magnétiques de complexes polymétalliques à base de métaux 3d et 4f. L’une des préoccupations majeure de ce travail concerne la compréhension des relations magnéto-structurales dans ces systèmes. Dans le premier chapitre nous donnons quelques éléments de magnétisme moléculaire et les principaux résultats dans le domaine des matériaux à base moléculaire. Dans le deuxième chapitre de ce travail nous présentons les résultats variés obtenus grâce à l’association d’un ligand simple, la 2-hydrosypyridine, avec des ions de CuII et LnIII. Les synthèses réalisées ont permis d’obtenir deux séries différentes de composés : hexanucléaires de type [Cu4Ln2] et décanucléaires de type [Cu8Ln2]. Dans le troisième chapitre nous avons focalisé notre étude sur la synthèse et caractérisation d’un complexe à valence mixte de manganèse comportant le cation [MnII(MnII3MnIII3)L12]5+, ou L = 2-hydroxybenzimidazole. Dans le dernier chapitre nous présentons les résultats de l’étude théorique et expérimentale des interactions antiferromagnétiques et de l’anisotropie dans un composé dinucléaire de CoII à partir de mesures effectuées sur des monocristaux de grande taille. Cette étude a été complétée par une étude par diffraction de neutrons polarisés selon les trois directions cristallographiques a, b et c d’un monocristal / Molecular magnetism is a field which gathers the magnetism of the simplest molecules but also that of very complex systems : high-spin molecules, molecular-based magnets, single molecule magnets, magnetic supramolecular buildings. Coordination chemistry is one way to obtain compounds with specific magnetic properties : ferromagnetic exchange interactions, uniaxial anisotropy, slow relaxation and quantum tunnelling of magnetization. In this context, the work presented here reports the synthesis and the detailed study of the crystal structures and interest of this study is the understanding of the magneto-structural relationships. In the fist chapter we give some elements of molecular magnetism. In the second chapter we present the results obtained by the association of 2-hydroxypyridine lignad, with cuII et LnIII ions. The syntheses lead to two different series of compounds : [Tu4Ln2] and [Cu8Ln2]. In the third chapiter we foaclized our attention on synthesis and study of new heptanuclear mixed-valence manganese complex with 2-OHBzIm ligand (2-hydroxybenzimidazole). The structure is formed by [Mn7(L]12]5+ core, consisting in a nearly planar Mn7 unit comprising a central Mn held within a Mn6 hexagon. The magnetic properties of this compound show a single molecule magnet behaviour. In the last chapter we report the results of the theoretical and experimental study of the antiferromagnetic exchange interactions ad the anisotropy in a dinuclear CoII complex from measurements made on large size single crystal. This study was completed with a polarized neutron diffraction study

This thesis investigates the structure and thermal behaviour of LiBH4, NaBH4, KBH4, LiK(BH4)2, Ca(BH4)2 and Sr(BH4)2. LiK(BH4)2 is the first mixed alkali metal borohydride and was synthesised and characterised during this work. The crystal structures of these borohydrides were studied using variable temperature neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The synthesis of isotopically enriched samples of 7Li11BD4, Li11BD4, Na11BD4 and K11BD4 allowed high quality neutron diffraction data to be collected. Particular attention was paid to the exact geometry of the borohydride ions which were generally found to be perfect tetrahedra but with orientational disorder. New structures of Ca(BH4)2 were identified and the first crystal structure of Sr(BH4)2 was determined from synchrotron X-ray diffraction data. Solid state 11B NMR and Raman spectroscopy provided further information about the structure of these borohydrides. The thermal behaviour of the borohydrides was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis with mass spectrometry of the decomposition gas products. Hydrogen is the main decomposition gas product from all of these compounds but small amounts of B2H6 and BH3 were also detected during decomposition. Thermogravimetic analyses of Na11BD4 and K11BD4 were completed whilst collecting in-situ neutron diffraction data allowing information about structural changes and mass losses to be combined in order to better understand the decomposition process.

Transition metal oxides adopt a wide variety of crystal structures and display a diverse range of physical phenomena from Mott insulating states to electron-nematics to unconventional superconductivity. Detailed understanding of these states and how they may be manipulated by structural modifications requires both precise structural knowledge and in-depth physical property measurements using as many techniques over as wide a range of phase space as possible. In the work described in this thesis a range of transition metal oxides were studied using high-resolution powder neutron diffraction and detailed low-temperature physical property measurements. The quaternary barium orthotellurates Ba₂NiTeO₆, Ba₂CuTeO₆ and Ba₂ZnTeO₆ belong to an almost unstudied family of materials. The development of procedures for synthesizing large single crystals has facilitated the investigation of interesting new anisotropic magnetic states in the Cu and Ni systems and the existence of a possible structural phase transition in the Zn-based compound. YMnO₃ is a multiferroic with improper ferrielectricity. The study of the high-temperature structural phases described in this thesis has led to the identification both of the transition path to the ferrielectric state and the identification of an isostructural phase transition within the ferrielectric phase. BiFe₀.₇Mn₀.₃O₃ is also a multiferroic material but with proper ferroelectricity. The investigation of the structural phases of this compound have provided confirmation of the high-temperature phases with the reassignment of the symmetry of the highest-temperature phase which is intriguingly different to that of the unsubstituted material. Finally, an investigation of the electronic structures of the high conductivity delafossites PdCoO₂ and PdCrO₂ using micro-cantilever torque magnetometry measurements of quantum oscillations is described. This has resolved the warping of the Fermi surface of PdCoO₂ and given insights into the complicated Fermi surface of the itinerant antiferromagnet PdCrO₂.

Les fils composites Cu/Nb étudiés ici sont d'excellents candidats pour les bobines non destructives générant des champs magnétiques pulsés intenses (B ≥ 100T). Ils sont fabriqués par Accumulative Drawing and Bundling (ADB) et sont constitué de renforts continus de Nb dans une matrice multi-échelles de Cu. Ces travaux rentrent dans le cadre du projet METAFORES (ANR-12-BS09-0002), visant l’évaluation des effets de taille et d’architecture sur les propriétés des conducteurs Cu/Nb. L’objectif principal consiste donc à caractériser leur microstructure et leurs propriétés à chaque étape de la fabrication par différentes techniques de caractérisation. Des essais mécaniques et électriques montrent une augmentation de la limite d’élasticité avec l’affinement de la microstructure tout en conservant une conductivité électrique adéquate. Les études de la texture globale par DRX ont mis en évidence trois composantes de texture de fibre dont deux pour la matrice de Cu (<111> et <100>) et une composante unique <110> pour le Nb. On retrouve ces trois composantes de texture dans les analyses locales (EBSD), cependant les proportions relatives des composantes du Cu varient en fonction du nombre de cycles ADB.Les essais de déformation in-situ sous neutrons ont mis en évidence des comportements élasto-plastique et purement élastique des familles de grains {111} du Cu et {110} du Nb respectivement, quels que soient les échantillons. Pour la famille {200} du Cu, le comportement mécanique varie en fonction du nombre de cycles ADB. Tous ces résultats viendront nourrir les simulations effectuées dans le cadre du projet METAFORES (Thèse de Tang Gu, ENSAM-Paris/Mines ParisTech). / High strength and high conductivity Cu/Nb composites studied here are very good candidates for the design of magnets generating high pulsed magnetic fields (B ≥ 100T). They are fabricated by Accumulative Drawing and Bundling (ADB) and are constituted with a multi-scale Cu matrix embedding continuous Nb filaments that are distributed in a controlled manner. This study is performed within the framework of the METAFORES project (ANR-12-BS09-0002) aiming at assessing size and architecture effects on properties of these Cu/Nb conductors. The main purpose is therefore to characterize the microstructure and properties of these conductors at different stages of the fabrication process. Mechanical and electrical results show an increase in yield strength while maintaining adequate electrical conductivity. Global texture studies confirm three fiber texture components: two for the Cu matrix (<111> and <100>) and a single component <110 > for Nb. These three texture components are also observed at the local scale analysis (EBSD); however the volume fractions of the Cu components locally depend on the number of ADB cycles.In-situ deformation tests under neutrons reveal elasticplastic and purely elastic behaviors of the {111} Cu and {110} Nb grains family respectively, whatever the samples. However, for the {200} Cu grains family, mechanical behavior strongly depends on the number of ADB cycles. These results will feed the simulations conducted in the METAFORES project (Thesis of Tang Gu, ENSAM-Paris / Mines ParisTech).

Ferritic superalloys strengthened by coherent ordered NiAl B2-type precipitates are promising candidates for ultra-supercritical steam-turbine applications, due to their superior resistance to creep, coarsening, oxidation, and steam corrosion as compared to Cr ferritic steels at high temperatures. Combined computational and experimental tools have been employed to investigate the interrelationships among the composition, microstructure, and mechanical behavior, and provide insight into deformation micromechanisms at elevated temperatures. Self and impurity diffusivities in a body-centered-cubic (bcc) iron are calculated using first-principles methods. Calculated self and impurity diffusivities compare favorably with experimental measurements in both ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states of bcc Fe. The calculated impurity diffusivities of W and Mo are larger than the self diffusivity of Fe, mainly owing to the lower activation energies. The microstructural attributes of NiAl-type B2 precipitates are investigated in several designed ferritic superalloys. Ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering in conjunction with transmission electron microscopy is employed to quantify the average size, size distribution, inter-particle spacing, and volume fraction of the primary precipitates. It is observed that as the Al amount increases from 4 to 10 mass%, there is a decrease in the average inter-particle spacing and average particle diameter. An alloy with 6.5 weight percent Al exhibits the optimal creep resistance and an associated maximum Orowan stress at 973 K. The dislocations-particle interaction mode during the secondary creep regime is identified as a combination of Orowan looping and dislocation climb. In-situ neutron diffraction experiments during tensile and creep deformations reveal the intergranular and interphase load-sharing mechanisms during plastic deformation at elevated temperatures. The change of deformation mechanisms from dislocation slip below 773 K to power-law creep above 873 K is well captured by the evolution of the different lattice strains. High-temperature deformation above 873 K is possibly assisted by the relaxation processes, e.g., grain-boundary sliding and/or diffusional flow along grain boundaries and matrixparticle interfaces. The evolution of lattice strains during high-temperature deformation is further verified by crystal-plasticity finite-element simulations. The significant findings in the present work provide the crucial baseline information for further alloy optimization and improvement in high-temperature creep resistance of ferritic superalloys.

No description available.

In order to understand the properties of thin film devices, knowledge of the material's structure is essential. The work presented here combines magnetic and structural characterization of the systems studied to gain a deeper physical understanding. The magnetic properties have been studied with a combination of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, SQUID magnetometry and magneto-optical Kerr effect. For the structural characterization, x-ray reflectivity and diffraction have been used, complemented by neutron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. One structural property that affects the magnetic moment in metal-on-metal superlattices is interdiffusion between the layers. This is discussed for bcc Fe/Co(001) and bcc Fe81Ni19/Co(001) superlattices. The effect of interdiffusion was seen as a large region of enhanced magnetic moments as compared to theoretical calculations, which assume perfectly sharp interfaces. For the Fe81Ni19/Co(001) superlattices the chemical interface region, as revealed by neutron diffraction, was in good agreement with the region of magnetic enhancement. Another structural property that has been investigated is the strain in the magnetic layers. This does not affect the spin magnetic moment to a large extent. However the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and the orbital moment are affected by the presence of strain. The effects on the orbital moment from strain and interfaces for Fe in Fe/V superlattices was studied, and it was found that the two contributions were separable. In this context the effect of strain on the out-of-plane magnetocrystalline anisotropy in FeCo/Pt has also been studied. The latter system is interesting from a technological perspective since tetragonally distorted FeCo alloys have the potential to be suitable new materials in computer hard drives. Finally, a computer program, based on the Differential Evolution algorithm, to refine primarily x-ray reflectivity data, is presented.

19 Dec 2004. / Published through the Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information. "IS-T 1983" Fei Tang. 12/19/2004. Report is also available in paper and microfiche from NTIS.

Les diverses perovskites de strontium-fer présentent de très fortes corrélations entre la structurecristalline et les phénomènes d’ordre de lacunes d’oxygènes, de charge, de spin et d’orbitales. Danscette thèse, nous avons réalisé une étude systématique des relations entre les ordres de charges etles ordres de spins selon les différents environnements cristallographiques rencontrés pour lescations Fe3+ et Fe4+ dans la phase Sr4Fe4O11, pour le cation Fe3+ dans les phases Sr3Fe2O6 et Sr2Fe2O10et pour le cation Fe2+ dans la phase SrFeO2. Les synthèses des phases polycristallines furent réaliséesvia des voies « solide » ou « sol-gel » en complément de la synthèse de cristaux préparés à l’aide d’unfour à image à fusion de zone verticale pour les phases Sr4Fe4O11 et Sr2Fe2O10. La qualité cristalline etchimique des oxydes fut contrôlée par diffraction de rayons X sur poudre et spectroscopieMössbauer alors que l’étude de la structure électronique de chaque phase a été réalisée à l’aide despectroscopie d’absorption de rayons X. Finalement, les structures magnétiques des phases Sr3Fe2O6et Sr4Fe4O11 sont aussi présentées. / The relationship of the crystallographic, magnetic, and electronic structure have long been of highinterest in research. Strontium iron oxides have structural, charge, spin, and orbital degrees offreedom, and thus give rich information to study for the condensed matter scientists. In this thesis,we have systematically studied the strontium iron oxides based on the freedom of the iron charge:Fe3+ and Fe4+ mixed valence compound SrFeO2,75 , Fe3+ compound Sr3Fe2O6 and SrFeO2,5 with differentcoordination around Fe3+ and Fe2+ compound SrFeO2. The synthesis of the polycrystalline compoundsare through either solid state reaction or sol-gel method. Single crystals of SrFeO2,75 and SrFeO2,5have been prepared by floating zone furnace. The purity of all the compounds is checked by lab x-raydiffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Electronic structures have been studied by x-ray absorptionspectroscopy for all these compounds. Special efforts have been used to investigate the magneticstructure of SrFeO2,75 and Sr3Fe2O6 .